Finland rents up nearly 4 per cent

Rental rates for flats in Finland have risen significantly in recent years, new data has shown. According to the latest figures from Statistics Finland, flats throughout the country saw a year-on-year increase of 3.7 per cent in 2012. In the capital, the average cost of rent was about EUR 15 per month for each square meter last year – a rise of almost 5 per cent – whilst housing outside of Helsinki cost about EUR per month on average.

Rates also grew in Turku and Tampere over the 12-month period, by 3.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, single-family house prices in Helsinki saw a substantial increase of 12 per cent in the last quarter of the year and a rise of 2.4 per cent for the whole of 2012, although elsewhere in Finland prices saw a minute decline of 0.2 per cent. The average single-family home in the capital cost around EUR 3,158 per square meter over the course of the year, whilst in other places the average was EUR 1,545 per square meter.